Federal Appeals Court Deals Blow to ObamaCare: Policies "Must be Made by Elected Representatives, Not Appointed, Life-Tenured Judges"

David French : Jul 22, 2014
American Center for Law and Justice

"The principle of legislative supremacy that guide us is higher [than ObamaCare]. Within constitutional limits, Congress is supreme in matters of policy, and the consequence of that supremacy is that our duty when interpreting a statute is to ascertain the meaning of the words... enacted through the formal legislative process. This limited role serves democratic interest by ensuring that policy is made by elected, politically accountable representatives, not by appointed, life-tenured judges." -Ruling handed down by US Court of Appeals in ObamaCare case

(Washington, DC)—A massive blow was dealt to the highly controversial ObamaCare mandate today. According to a report in the American Center for Law and Justice, in a 2-1 decision, a three-judge panel of the US Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia struck down an IRS rule that extended ObamaCare subsidies well beyond the law's written guidelines.

In other words, the Court found that the ObamaCare subsidies for the millions of Americans in the 35 states that did not create ObamaCare exchanges are unlawful. Or, as a report inFox News put it, "though the ruling is likely to be appealed, the decision threatens to gut the foundation of [ObamaCare] by potentially nixing subsidies that millions of people obtained through the federally run exchange known as HealthCare.gov.

The Court's statement read: "We reach this conclusion, frankly, with reluctance. At least until states that wish to can set up Exchanges, our ruling will likely have significant consequences both for the millions of individuals receiving tax credits through federal Exchanges and for health insurance markets more broadly.

"But high as those stakes are, the principle of legislative supremacy that guides us is higher still. Within constitutional limits, Congress is supreme in matters of policy, and the consequence of that supremacy is that our duty when interpreting a statute is to ascertain the meaning of the words of the statue duly enacted through the formal legislative process.

"This limited role serves democratic interest by ensuring that policy is made by elected, politically accountable representatives, not by appointed, life-tenured judges."